Summit Cruises Canceled

[bama4cruisin]

18 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

The wording is terrible. It should be any ship homeporting internationally has to quarantine for 14 days before being allowed to embark from US ports. Granted I didn't look too terribly hard, but I really cannot find many sailings that this would apply to.

 

Among the major cruiselines, Apex is about the only October arrival TA out there. Everyone else arrives in November when presumably the CSO is gone. Unless I overlooked one, I don't see any repo cruises either.  

And had the dates of the Apex TA not been changed, it would not arrive until November 4 . . . We were originally scheduled to embark from Barcelona on October 21 and arrive in Port Everglades November 4; a couple of months ago, the cruise was moved to October 10-24.

[lv2cruisgrl]

1 hour ago, REEtired said:

Yes got same email this morning. Contacted X to rebook for September 25.  X mentioned possibly additional cost. Read from the email I received and talked to resolutions desk. They canceled flights previously booked thru flights by celebrity and rebooked new flights. Still waiting for email confirmation from X for rebooked flights. Then tonight see a $370 additional charge on our credit card. Not happy. I will calm down and call X in the morning.  Ugh! 😡

That's why I am just taking the refund! 

[lv2cruisgrl]

2 hours ago, PBTravelBug said:

I just got off the phone with my TA.

I re-booked my Summit cruise - I may just be kicking the can down the road.

A heads up to all who may do the same...at first Celebrity wanted to charge the difference between my 9/2 fare and the new sailing (about $100 pp). Please keep your emailed notification from Celebrity on hand. We directly quoted the letter and then Celebrity said - ok we can do that. Now re-booked same cabin grade etc..

If the refund option was the choice - it can take up to 90 days for the refund to show and there is nothing the TA can do to expedite the refund.

 

Keep an eye on your credit card for additional charges. Others thought they were just rebooking at same cost and ended up with a CC charge!

[marieps]

These ae quotations from a CDC spokesperson on the Royal Caribbean blog:

 

"At this time, there is no exception to this requirement; therefore, all ships planning to sail in U.S. waters under the conditional sailing order (CSO) will be required to sail without passengers for 14 days prior to entering U.S. waters."

 

The CDC is also  "currently evaluating the need for options as ships want to reposition to the U.S. in the fall."

 

So if true, the TAs on Apex and Silhouette could be changed into non revenue repositions as the clock ticks.  =X= needs to announce something soon on this, as getting to the UK for a TA is a lot more burdensome than getting to PEV for a Caribbean voyage.  We need more notice that the Summit folks got.

[mayleeman]

Thanks to the people who have posted the explanations for this. Many people seeming to calm down now that they see a reason for the cancellations. It seems this is a lesson businesses just keep forgetting when they treat their customers like mushrooms, dumping (manure) on them and keeping them in the dark!

Edited August 11, 2021 by mayleeman

[mayleeman]

Looking back, does everyone remember after the injunction was left in place on appeal, when the CDC pretty much said they would be forced to enforce strict pre-CSO rules on any ship not "voluntarily" complying with the CSO "recommendations"?

 

Maybe the delays in deciding what to cancel on the Summit's return occurred because of indecision in X's corporate HQ as to whether to test that threat. But then decided to comply after all.

[canderson]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

 you are thinking of a different lawsuit, the one that NCL brought against Florida to challenge the state law prohibiting businesses from requiring patrons to provide proof of vaccination 

Good point.  It's the Florida (and now with Texas added) suit against the CDC that matters here. 

Problem is, the CDC found a friendly court in Atlanta for their appeal.  Who knows how long it's going to take to get this through the system. 

[nocl]

37 minutes ago, canderson said:

Good point.  It's the Florida (and now with Texas added) suit against the CDC that matters here. 

Problem is, the CDC found a friendly court in Atlanta for their appeal.  Who knows how long it's going to take to get this through the system. 

Actually the CDC appeal was denied, because the CDC did not meet required standards for appeal.

Edited August 11, 2021 by nocl

[maadimom]

Crystal Cruises breaks with CDC order in Florida to board passengers in Miami: Travel Weekly

 

If you read the very last line...."Another result of the changed rules in Florida is that the Serenity will not have to quarantine for 14 days prior to embarking guests from the U.S., Crystal said."

Some of these cruises start in the Bahamas and Miami is one of the port stops.  What am I missing?

[canderson]

17 minutes ago, nocl said:

Actually the CDC appeal was denied, because the CDC did not meet required standards for appeal.

Yes, that was in July.  But then the CDC went directly to a federal appeals court to put a hold on the district judge's ruling, claiming that legal errors combined with an overreach by the district judge were both issues.  What finally happened after that?  I never did hear.

[nocl]

22 minutes ago, canderson said:

Yes, that was in July.  But then the CDC went directly to a federal appeals court to put a hold on the district judge's ruling, claiming that legal errors combined with an overreach by the district judge were both issues.  What finally happened after that?  I never did hear.

Keep in mind that the district judge merely granted an injunction, the case has not yet been heard.

 

The appeals court denied the CDC's appeal to stay the injunction because the CDC did not meet required standards for the appeal.

[canderson]

Good.  Thought I'd missed a major story element there somewhere.

 

So I'm back to "Who knows how long it's going to take to get this through the system?"

 

[Tapi]

Phew! Dodged the “last minute cancellation bullet” and all the changes that come with that! 

 

We were booked on Summit’s first cruise from the US on September 2nd (which I was super exited about), but about a month ago decided to cancel it and move those funds to the Equinox for next summer. Instead, we are now booked on MSC Meraviglia for September 3rd (23 days to go and keeping my fingers crossed that there are no hiccups!). I was able to change flights and hotel reservation with zero extra expenses. 

 

At the time we decided to cancel our Summit cruise and transfer the funds to the Equinox, Celebrity was great and made all the changes quickly and seamlessly. Interestingly, we are going from a 4 night cruise on the Summit to a 6 night cruise on the Equinox for only $200pp more. Not a bad deal to sail on a longer itinerary on a newer and larger ship. 

 

 

[kearney]

9 hours ago, mayleeman said:

Looking back, does everyone remember after the injunction was left in place on appeal, when the CDC pretty much said they would be forced to enforce strict pre-CSO rules on any ship not "voluntarily" complying with the CSO "recommendations"?

 

Maybe the delays in deciding what to cancel on the Summit's return occurred because of indecision in X's corporate HQ as to whether to test that threat. But then decided to comply after all.

I was wondering... after the court ruled in favor of Florida for the temporary injunction.. CDC made some statements that could have been interpreted as threats... and as I recall the court told Florida to come back if the CDC actually harassed the cruise lines.... since this is apparently a long standing rule... it might not qualify..but it is interesting that it comes up now...  I agree that I am not sure how Celebrity thought they could avoid one set of rules while putting all those complicated procedures together in response to CSO. I don't think this was a challenge to CDC... I think someone dropped the ball....unless CDC communicated that they would let it slide...but doubtful.

[cangelmd]

13 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

 

Among the major cruiselines, Apex is about the only October arrival TA out there. Everyone else arrives in November when presumably the CSO is gone. Unless I overlooked one, I don't see any repo cruises either.  

I will be shocked if the CSO is allowed to expire Nov 1. The only way I see it expiring is by being replaced with a permanent set of updated regulations or if courts intervene. Perhaps by the end of the year, but the 14 day quarantine may be one of the last things to go because it represents taking a ship into the CDC bubble. Doesn’t matter as much what other countries require, if the crew quarantines for 14 days alone, they have met some of the basic CDC requirements.

Edited August 11, 2021 by cangelmd

[Jeremiah1212]

9 hours ago, maadimom said:

Crystal Cruises breaks with CDC order in Florida to board passengers in Miami: Travel Weekly

 

If you read the very last line...."Another result of the changed rules in Florida is that the Serenity will not have to quarantine for 14 days prior to embarking guests from the U.S., Crystal said."

Some of these cruises start in the Bahamas and Miami is one of the port stops.  What am I missing?

 

CDC said the Coast Guard would enforce the indoor mask ruling (outside of the CSO) for any ships that did not voluntarily comply with the CSO. Serenity left Miami on Monday and from reports onboard, masks indoors are optional. I wonder if there will be any ramifications to that decision...

[TeeRick]

13 hours ago, kearney said:

Thanks... I am just confused by how sailing around the Caribbean out of St Maarten is riskier than sailing ..say...out of Miami etc (eg Edge) to the same ports...especially if all the crew are vaccinated and apparently covid on surfaces hasn't been the issue....  I am just trying to get the logic of this... 

So I assume this just applies to ships repositioning to the US.... 

Logic???  😀

[WhiteSoxFan]

14 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Logic???  😀

Government agencies never let logic interfere with their judgement.

 

But I agree, they were sailing under stricter guidelines than they will in Florida.

[jgmorgan]

12 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Logic???  😀

It might have something to do with the monitoring and reporting protocols embedded in the CDC's order.  If Summit had continued to operate within those protocols it might not have raised the same issue.  But as someone noted earlier, we'll probably never know the full story.

 

At any rate, Celebrity knew what the rules were weeks (months, actually) in advance, they apparently didn't take those into consideration and continued to sell cruises that have now been cancelled.  Then they sent a letter that was misleading (at best) that implied new guidance from the CDC was the culprit.

 

Even with all of that, though, I can't wait to walk up the boarding ramp to the Millennium next week.😀

 

And, that may explain why Celebrity gets away with some really poor business practices.

[Jeremiah1212]

14 minutes ago, jgmorgan said:

It might have something to do with the monitoring and reporting protocols embedded in the CDC's order.  If Summit had continued to operate within those protocols it might not have raised the same issue.  But as someone noted earlier, we'll probably never know the full story.

 

At any rate, Celebrity knew what the rules were weeks (months, actually) in advance, they apparently didn't take those into consideration and continued to sell cruises that have now been cancelled.  Then they sent a letter that was misleading (at best) that implied new guidance from the CDC was the culprit.

 

Even with all of that, though, I can't wait to walk up the boarding ramp to the Millennium next week.😀

 

And, that may explain why Celebrity gets away with some really poor business practices.

 

The CDC quote from the not-to-be-mentioned blog says "The CDC added that they are "currently evaluating the need for options as ships want to reposition to the U.S. in the fall." 

 

To me that says they tried to come to an agreement but weren't able to do it in time without doing very last minute cancelations to these Summit cruises. I suspect it will again be a while before we find out what the plan is for Apex and potentitally Silhouette cruises that need adjustments. 

[llawrence]

Do you think this will have an impact on the First “Connie” sailing after coming out of dry dock..?  My TA sent a message to keep an eye on this sailing….

[pumpkin 11]

On 8/10/2021 at 7:30 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

I can see the Apex transatlantic being canceled, it's exactly the right length for this buffer period. My parents are on the second to last Greece sailing and I'm hoping they'll be in the clear since there is one 7-night and then the 14-day transatlantic following theirs. 

I sure hope not, those poor people have been through enough stress 🤪

 

This rule is idiotic, I do not see what it accomplishes.

[The_Mac]

8 minutes ago, pumpkin 11 said:

I sure hope not, those poor people have been through enough stress 🤪

 

This rule is idiotic, I do not see what it accomplishes.

 

It basically accomplishes a 14 day quarantine for the crew of any boat coming to the US from a foreign country to take on passengers.

 

Its certainly logical, the question is it necessary.

 

One cruise company has already ignored it.

Edited August 11, 2021 by The_Mac

[PBTravelBug]

2 hours ago, llawrence said:

Do you think this will have an impact on the First “Connie” sailing after coming out of dry dock..?  My TA sent a message to keep an eye on this sailing….

Is the first Constellation sailing after coming out of dry dock the November 7, 2021 cruise?

We are booked on that sailing. 

Had our Summit 9/2 cruise cancelled yesterday. Have been wondering about our November Constellation sailing.

[canderson]

Yes, that is the first schedule sailing for Constellation.  See you there!

Roll call here >> https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2718792-celebrity-constellation-november-7-2021-5-day-caribbean/page/1/

Constellation, whatever else happens, can't have the same problem as Summit since our cruise will be the first, and will have plenty of time to meet any 14 day requirement ahead of 7 November as it leaves dry dock in the next day or so.